At four and a half, Mel knew three things.
Never trust anyone with a smile too wide, never let them see you cry and never let them see the turning wheels behind your eyes.
Maybe that last rule was why she stood like a frozen statue when the knife pressed against Max's throat. Three long seconds ticked by, each one slower than the last before she started to move. But Miriam's hand clamped down on her shoulder stopping her.
Her voice came low, a warning that cut through the murmured threats. "I think you've got the wrong kids, boys"
She loomed over the gangly kids, her presence a blend of raw strength and coiled tension. The leader of their ragged group, a scrawny thing with wild eyes tried to hold onto his bravado. He sneered at Miriam, but when his gaze met her that sneer faltered. Her lips curled into a thin smile, the kind that did not show teeth but her menace, tightening the bandages around her knuckles.
The leader's grip on the knife loosened and with a final shove, he let go of Max. They dropped the bag of apples muttering curses as they sulked off. "We'll see about this!" One of them yelled over his shoulder, not giving up on some shred of pride. His words bounced off the rusted metal walls, swallowed by the hiss of steam from the pipes above.
Mel stood rooted staring at them as an apple rolled to her feet from the spilled bag. She crouched picking up the bruised fruit while Max, breath hitching, blurted out the story of his life. His hand flailed, each word tumbling over the last like loose gears.
"And then he... hic! Had the knife and... hic! I'm gonna get him, I swear... aaaahhh!" He wailed tears streaking down his dirt-smeared cheeks.
Miriam didn't bother with it more than a distraction. "Yeah, yeah" Her attention was fixed on Max's skinny neck, checking for cuts. satisfied he wasn't about to bleed out, she sighed. "All good," She muttered, nodding as she swiped her soot-stained palms over his wet cheeks, smudging his face even more.
"Oh!" She grumbled glancing around for something to clean him up. But then she just used his own shirt, scrubbing at his face with brisk efficiency. "Better than nothing,"
She hefted the now sniveling Max onto his hip, and Mel grabbed onto her tattered coat tied around her wrist, gathering the apples they'd saved. She followed Miriam's quick steps through the winding streets towards their favorite spot by the fountain, where she worked in Jerald's tinkering shop.
Steam hissed from overhead pipes, wrapping the air in a thick haze that painted the sky a dull greasy grey. But above the Crossreach, the clouds parted just enough to let in silver blue, clearer than anything over their home deeper in the Solisra. The hum of machinery from far away thrummed through the streets, like a second heartbeat, yet it was too fast and too anxious.
Mel barely heard Miriam's rambling lecture about avoiding bullies. Her mind was drifting, eyes on a funny-shaped cloud high above. It was whiter than old Jerald's beard floating lazily between iron beams.
"... What're you gonna do if I'm not here to- Oh! Mel! Watch you step!"
Mel stumbled, grabbing onto Miriam's coat to steady herself. They nearly collided with Jerald himself, standing outside the shop with a deep scowl enough to crack a stone. He puffed on his pipe, smoke curling around his head like a halo of bad temper.
"It's the brats," Miriam called over, setting Max down. Jerald looked at them through squinty eyes his grizzled face pulling into a grimace as he eyed the scrape on Max's neck.
"Ya' oughta keep 'em outta trouble, girl," He grumbled, voice like gravel scrapping in his throat. "Won't last a day, the way they go on,"
Miriam crouched to meet the twins' eyes, her tight-lipped smile showing off those dimples that Mel was jealous of secretly. "Now be good, eat something, and don't go running off, hear me?"
"What about your apple?" Max asked, holding up one he'd saved just for her.
Miriam waved it off. "Already ate. Now go sit over there, both of ya" She gave them a little shove towards the fountain before hurrying off to help Jerald with a tall customer who looked too clean to belong in the Solisra. Mel noticed the way her sister kept pressing her fingers to her temples when talking with the man. She only did that when she was truly fed up.
Mel and Max found their usual perch at the edge of the old fountain.
The Crossreach was where the Highspire ended and the Solisra began. A set of bridges stood between the two worlds, a thin line between polished marble streets and shadowed alleys of rusted metal. At its center, people mingled, and traders hawked strange wares, from polished clockwork birds to baskets of rare fruits that shone like jewels. The air buzzed with voices in a dozen dialects, clashing scents of incense and fried meat swirling together, mingling and drifting upward.
In the middle of it all, a stone fountain bubbled, adorned with sculptures of old heroes no one remembered anymore. Cool water flowed from the mouths of half-buried statues, splashing into the shallow pool that caught the light of the sun high above. It was here that the twins found a small pocket of peace, sitting on the fountain edge. They bit into a crisp apple, the sweetness surprising them after days of stake bread and thin soup.
Max's eyes lit up at a cloud passing overhead, pointing with sticky fingers. "That one looks like a pig,"
Mel followed his gaze, squinting. She could swear that a pig didn't have a flat snout and it had pointy teeth too. With pigs having droopy ears with hair covering their skin, that cloud did not look like a pig at all. "No,"
"What is it then?" Max challenged her.
"A dog... a big one," Mel showed off.
Max stared at her for a few seconds before releasing a long sigh. "Do you ever read the things under the pictures?"
"Reading is hard," Mel retorted, chomping another bite. The pig's nose crumbled, ears growing longer. "Now it's a- HEY!"
Both heads turned towards where Miriam shouted from, the shop's doorway. "Be careful! Ya' gonna choke to death!" She didn't wait for a reply, already turning back to the customer. Her braid swung her as she kept running her hands over her face like she was trying to wipe away the whole day.
Max, who was now thoroughly chewing and looking down on earth, peered into their apple bag. "Let's save one for Miri," He announced, as Mel nodded agreeing with him though she was certain he'd be trying to sneak another one for himself.
Sure enough, his fingers reached into the bag for another one and she smacked his hand away. But in his hurry, the whole bag slipped out of her grip, and tumbled in the water with a quiet plop!
Max's mouth dropped open as he scrambled to the fountain edge, staring down at the bobbing apples. The water distorted their reflections, turning his round face into something wobbly and strange. Mel's glare stung his nape. "They're still there" He mumbled as if willing the apples to stay above the water.
Having enough of him for today, Mel planted one knee on the edge of the fountain and leaned forward, stretching her arm towards the nearest apple. As it was still floating away from her, Mel's brain worked to find out the worst word to address her brother.
"... Ugh! StUpid!"
"I'm sorry... watch out!"
Her fingers brushed the apple, and for a moment she felt triumphant. But then the wet stone slipped under her knee. Heart leaping into her throat, the world tilted dangerously around her. Her hand clawed no apple, but empty air as Max's voice rose in a shriek.